Unfurling the Banner

Morning light sliced across the floor, illuminating a glossy printed leaflet dropped near the front door slot. A colorful map of city parks and bike trails lay tightly folded like a sealed decree. I stomped down from the hall floorboards and planted my sturdy feet onto the bristled doormat. Lowering my horned snout, I hooked the sharp ridge of my nose beneath the heavy paper crease and shoved upward with all my might. The paper resisted, then snapped wide with a loud, crisp flutter, spreading flat across the mat. A sprawling grid of green paths now lies beneath my claws, ready to be charted.